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| DEBBIE WILLIAMS |
SAUK VILLAGE | One year ago today the Travelgate Scandal broke in Sauk Village! As calls for an Ethical Investigation were made following Village Clerk Debbie Williams meltdown during a Village Board meeting July 23, 2013. Williams, her daughter, Village Trustee Rosie Williams and a senior citizen resident, also a village vendor, attended a Building One America Summit in Washington D.C. funded at a cost of a reported $3,000 by parties whom are still unknown today.
Williams reportedly raised funds to finance her trip using
the Village’s website and resources and claimed that this was a “personal trip”.
The Village denied a Freedom of Information Act request to
obtain information about the trip in 2013, which led to the Illinois Attorney
General Lisa Madigan’s office issuing a determination that Williams and the
Village must turn over all records with respect to the trip and all financial
information about the trip. The Village
refused to comply with the Attorney General’s determination.
A subsequent request was filed with the Village in order to obtain
the same information, and the Village again refused to comply responding once
again through their law firm. Another
request to the Illinios Attorney General was made to force the enforcement of
their office’s previous determination has been made.
In a letter sent to Village officials by the Attorney General, they wanted to know under what law the Village has refused to provide the information as requested in light of the previous decision they made. The Village refused to respond to the Attorney General's letter or provide any documentation in an official response.
The Attorney General’s office is expected to issue their determination in the next few days, or they may request a 30 day extension in order to issue a binding legal opinion.
Mayor David Hanks attempted to use an old binding opinion of
Rolland Burris, then Illinois Attorney General’s office in order to keep Robert Fox out as Chief
of Police back in 2011.
Political friend ally and Housing Commissioner Chairman Gary
Holcomb, who had videoed Village meetings during Lewis Towers administration
was allegedly asked not to publish the video by Mayor David Hanks because it
may cause embarrassment to Williams and the Village. Holcomb has not published his video but has
published countless hours of videos of Village Board meetings under Lewis
Towers unedited. A complete copy of the
audio of the July 23, 2013 meeting was requested under the Freedom of
Information Act and sent to the Illinois Attorney General along with the
request for review.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The Sauk Village People Looking for Answers Now (P.L.A.N.) now videos all of the meetings and puts out the unedited videos on their Youtube and Facebook pages as a result of Holcomb's actions so that people know what is going on.
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